


open your eyes to see the sunshine

by morinoke



Category: One Piece
Genre: (for their parents), Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Violence, Bullying, Crying, Established Relationship, Fluff, Freckles, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Past Character Death, Scars, Self-Doubt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29167980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morinoke/pseuds/morinoke
Summary: Everyone’s got their shortcomings, insecurities and self-doubts, and Shachi’s no exception. There’s a good reason as to why he keeps his sunglasses on his person at all times, even when it inconveniences him, and though seemingly trivial to outsiders, Penguin knows better from experience that there’s a perfectly good reason behind all of it.(And maybe, at the same time, he can help to ease some of the doubts that Shachi has.)
Relationships: Penguin/Shachi (One Piece)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	open your eyes to see the sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> I took one look at Shachi and his sunglasses and thought, "Yep, time to give this boy some self-doubt about his eyes." 
> 
> All jokes aside though, I had a blast writing this! I wanted to explore possible shortcomings that Shachi might have had ever since he was a kid, and write a comfort fic in which Penguin, the only other person who went through the same exact things he did, could keep him grounded and assure him that yes, no matter what he looks like, he's still the amazing killer whale that we all know and love.
> 
> Enjoy reading!

"Comfortable?"

"Mm." Penguin hears an affirmative yet impatient sound from the back of Shachi's throat, and he smiles for the man resting his head on his shoulder. 

It's been a little time after dinner and the two of them are holed up in their room, the weight of the warm food in their stomachs making them drowsy. There's slow swing music playing in the background and the lights are dimmed, and it helps set the mood and ambience for what they're going to do.

With eyes lidded in contentment, Shachi lets himself be led closer to Penguin, who cups his jawline and presses a kiss on his nose. It makes him squirm a bit, but it turns to a giggle as Penguin moves to nuzzle him, stray strands of hair licking at him along the way. 

_ Cheesy. _

As they shift closer to one another, Penguin moves on to pepper kisses on his lips, which makes heat pool at the bottom of Shachi's gut. He wastes no time in allowing entrance to his lips and Penguin gives him exactly what he wants, tongue licking and toying with the inside of his mouth. While doing so, Penguin buries a hand in between his reddish-brown locks and pulls gently, which makes Shachi sigh. Contented, he lets the familiar burning sensations overwhelm him. 

(For someone like Penguin who had  _ such _ a way with words, he was certainly skilled with using his tongue in more ways than one.)

By the time they break apart, Shachi's panting for air and his cheeks are flushed with a pretty red. He's at the very early stages of getting thoroughly debauched, as he often becomes in Penguin’s presence, but his heart pounds at the anticipation of more. 

As his eyes flutter open, he can feel a ferocious stare that's directed straight at him, and he looks up at the only other person in the room.

Penguin's regarding him like prey to a starved animal, like he can't wait to devour him whole. 

Shachi swallows thickly, but he resists the urge to look away. He can feel his face crackle with embarrassment, but it's not enough to make him avoidant just yet.

(He's frankly not used to Penguin's brand of adoration, but he still wants to see those pretty ocean eyes.)

Without warning, Penguin's hands creep up to Shachi's sides and with the coldness of his fingers, it makes Shachi jump a little. He nearly falls off of Penguin's lap, but the same set of hands keep him in place and massage his hip at the same time. He gasps as the plane of skin between his hip bones and legs is breached, Penguin's thumbs rubbing him roughly just like how he knows Shachi likes it. 

"My handsome killer whale," Penguin mumbles hushed, teeth nipping at Shachi's neck and grinding them against exposed areas. He leaves bruise marks that make him shiver in the cool air of their room, but the way Penguin's deep tones reverberate in Shachi's ears make him think of hyperventilation instead. " _ All mine. _ "

There's a drunken, blissful look on Penguin's face and Shachi feels so gratified in his presence. With bruising bites and marks on his body, even in areas where Penguin left old bruises before, he tastes vulnerability, with him being undressed by a pair of lust-filled eyes and literally by a pair of hands that are running up his ribcage. 

_ He’s making it so hard to breathe _ , Shachi thinks.

Penguin leans in to kiss him again with his hands exploring the skin underneath his shirt, but this time, his actions have a sense of hesitancy and curiosity to them. He's gazing at the space between Shachi's eyes, which are shrouded by his usual pair of sunglasses, and he reaches up to caress a hand over his forehead and run through his fringe. 

And no, it did _not_ make him yelp .

...He thinks.

"Shach," Penguin implores, a careful tone to his voice. "...Could you take off your sunglasses?" 

"H-Huh…?" As Shachi registers his words, he startles with realization and he instinctively backpedals almost right off the bed, were it not for Penguin quickly holding onto him and keeping him close and safe. "Wait! Why do I have to do that?!" 

_ Why would you want to see my eyes? They're...ugly. _

"So I can kiss you better," Penguin states matter-of-factly, keeping a hand on him and rubbing soothing circles into Shachi's back. 

"I--but--" Shachi panics, the notion of exposing his eyes making him launch his hands in random, wild gestures. "You--I don't think...I don't think you want me to do that." 

Staring down at the mess of blankets he just made, Shachi meddles with his thumbs and fingers ruefully. This honestly wasn't the first time he had taken off his sunglasses in front of Penguin, but the very idea of it still made him wary. 

But of course, Penguin was Penguin, and when it came to things like this, Shachi couldn’t help but feel compelled to follow along with him. Exposing his eyes was something that bothered Shachi ever since they were kids, and it was only until now that he was getting more used to it. 

(However, Penguin was unknowingly making him flustered every time he suggested such a thing.)

"Of course I do." Penguin crawls over closer to Shachi, and he waits for Shachi to nod silently before cradling Shachi’s head to his chest. Shachi can feel Penguin's breath against his neck while he’s holding him close, which further interrupts his already irregular breathing. "I know you feel uncomfortable when you take them off in public, but we're alone. There's no one here but me, and I definitely won't judge you for what your eyes look like.”

A ragged sigh, and Shachi’s hugging him back. “I get that. But it’s become a habit that I’m used to. I can’t change it that easily.”

Shachi can feel Penguin pressing reassuring kisses to his forehead, and he lets out a relieved exhale.

“Yeah, I understand. The same thing goes for my hat, so I won’t force you. I just wanted to make it easier for both of us.” Penguin smoothes out the creases that stand out in Shachi’s hair and he waits until Shachi stops shaking to talk again. “I’m sorry if I made you panic, Shach. Do you want to continue?” 

“...Dumbass.” Shachi scoots closer to Penguin, clutching onto the folds of his clothes and burying his face in his chest. “Of course I want to continue. But you just surprised me, that’s all. Wait--Wait for me, alright?” 

With his curiosity piqued, Penguin gazes down at the man in his arms and he observes shaky hands that reach up to grab at the sunglasses perched on Shachi’s face. All at once, the realization of what Shachi is doing hits him like a truck and his eyes blow wide open, and this time,  _ he’s _ the one to start panicking.

“Shach--you don’t have to--I’m not forcing you--” 

“ _ I _ want to,” Shachi grumbles, and right on the spot, Penguin registers his grumbling as  _ cute.  _ “We’re alone, aren’t we?”

“...We are.” Penguin’s voice drops an octave as mischievous thoughts form in his head and he barely resists the urge to laugh, which earns him a loose punch from Shachi. 

"Shush it, you."

The sunglasses are now off though, and Penguin observes the skin enshrouding Shachi’s eyes and the tiny yet shining freckles that form constellations on it.  _ Breathtaking _ , he thinks, as Shachi still hangs onto him for dear life.

“Ready?” He probes softly and captures Shachi’s trembling hands in his own. He feels Shachi squeeze his hand back and attempt to keep his breathing in check, but even in the privacy of their own room can Penguin hear Shachi’s breath dripping with nervousness. 

“Mm.” 

Another impatient yet nervous sound and Penguin concludes grimly that one day, he will surely die of Shachi-induced cuteness.

It’s a gradual process though, and as Shachi musters up his courage to lift his head and make eye contact with Penguin, Penguin's hand is gripped tighter and tighter. While he doesn't mind the extra skin-to-skin pressure, something in the back of his mind nags at him with panic and excitement all at the same time.

He didn't want to force Shachi, but if he himself wanted to do it, well…

Right in the midst of his ruminations, Penguin hears the thud of a pair of sunglasses hit the surface of their bedside table, and in a rush of excitement, he snaps his head up in anticipation for a potential pretty sight in front of him.

…

...Wow. 

There were many times that Shachi had grinned at him with that sunshine smile of his and praised him for having the eyes of the sea, an entity which gave life and one that could also destroy you. It was always proclaimed so nonchalantly, whether they were out on the deck of the Tang or eating together with everyone else in the mess hall (with added teasing in the mix), and Penguin had always longed for some form of reciprocation that he could give to Shachi. He had wanted to marvel him for all that he was and to give him the due praise that he deserved.

But as Penguin peers into a world of flourishing natural foliage that made up Shachi's eyes, he finds that no array of words formed can ever pay homage to Shachi or bring his stolen breath back.

The tips of Shachi's ears are dusted red and he's fidgeting, tense but eager to hear what Penguin has to say. This isn't the first time Shachi has gone without his sunglasses in front of Penguin, but this  _ is  _ the first time they've been so up close and personal with one another while doing so. Penguin had said before that green was a flattering colour on him, but secretly, Shachi had wanted to be praised more.

He adored what Penguin had to say, even if it was about him.

"Hey, Pen...what do you think?" Shachi tries cracking a smile, but he knows that he's tripping and stammering his words. "Flattering, huh?"

Penguin's silent, with his expression unreadable. 

The uncertainty of it makes Shachi want to crawl into a hole and conceal himself there for all eternity. However, it's also the reason why Shachi is utterly and completely caught off guard when he's suddenly heaved back-first onto the bed, with Penguin above him and his wits thrown about him messily. 

"Woah--wh--" 

"I--" Penguin breathes out, his movements hesitating before his hands slide up the bottom of Shachi's shirt once again to tease him. "You're so amazing." 

"Pen--ahh!" Shachi thumps his head against the pillow, feeling Penguin's tongue flick over his chest and suck on it, which forces his eyes to clamp shut. 

"Show me your eyes, please," Penguin all but  _ pleads _ , drinking in the noises that Shachi's making and delighting in making him come apart. " _ Fuck _ , you're so perfect. Has anyone ever told you that your eyes look  _ absolutely amazing _ ?" 

In the haze of the ministrations that Penguin's dealing to him, Shachi lets his mouth fall open in shock, and he can feel his heart skip a beat as if it were a pebble skipping over water. 

He dares himself to chance a look at Penguin, but he’s met with him licking his lips with passionate fervour. With his mouth dry and slightly agape, Penguin definitely, most certainly, gives off the impression of  _ desperation. _

However, in the clouds of his lust, he also realizes another thing: Penguin looked at his eyes and called them  _ amazing _ . 

Speechless, he furrows his eyebrows in disbelief.  _ Wasn’t Penguin aware that these were the very same set of eyes that others had called unnatural, and even grotesque?  _

While Shachi's panting and trying to recover from the physical and mental whiplash, Penguin admires his handiwork laid out on the sheets in front of him. Shachi's arms are spread out above his head and his face is splashed with an incredible crimson red. With his shirt riding above his chest, a series of bite marks and hickies dotting his slightly tanned chest are exposed, and Penguin trembles along with his rapidly disappearing self-control. 

_ God, he's so in love. _

Penguin dives down once again to help Shachi toss his shirt to one side of the room and he attacks his mouth once it's off. He pushes Shachi down against the bed in a frenzy and with their bodies flush together, Shachi can feel Penguin's tongue toying with him from the back of his mouth. He loses a moan as they wrestle with one another in the blankets and he loses his mind when Penguin locks their fingers together again as if he’s afraid this is the last time they’re going to be in bed. 

He was always like that; so needy for him, especially when it came to life-threatening situations.

(It was so smothering and suffocating, but it was like  _ heaven. _ )

Shachi watches as Penguin wiggles out of his shirt and flings it away, which exposes his well-toned body strewn with scars and tattoos. It further adds insult to injury as Shachi can feel his mind roaming with delight, as his most exclusive private thoughts invade his already filthy mind. 

As his fantasies are kept at bay, his hands roam to trace over the jagged lines of trauma on Penguin’s body. 

(There was no need for fantasies if reality fulfilled every single one of them already.) 

_ Right arm. _

_ Left shoulder. _

_ Both wrists. _

“Enjoying the view?” Penguin smirks devilishly, his fingers pressing Shachi’s palm against the part of his chest where he can feel his heartbeat clear as day. “It’s all yours,  _ baby. _ ” 

At that, Shachi lets out an abashed laugh, eyes curling in on themselves in happiness and the sheer ridiculousness of Penguin trying to be smooth. 

“Next thing we know you’ll be telling me to take a picture or something.” 

“That’s assuming you don’t already have pictures of my naked body, of course.” Matching his laughter, Penguin brushes his lips to Shachi’s forehead, which leaves a featherlight sensation behind. “Which you do.”

It makes Shachi’s insides twist in a roller coaster-like fashion, but both he and Penguin love going on roller coasters. 

(And he was going on one with him right now.) 

“...Hey, Pen.” 

“Hmm?” 

“Do you...do you really think my eyes look nice?” Shachi draws in a sharp breath, as Penguin meddles with the band of his shorts and ghosts a hand over his erection. He looks up at the love of his life and he sees Penguin’s eyes melt like burnt caramel, and he’s overcome with a wave of emotion. 

“Yes,” Penguin confesses candidly, stopping to cover Shachi’s thighs with kisses. “They’re the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen in all of the four seas.”

Shachi's toes curl with distaste instantly. “...Don’t lie to me.”

“It’s the truth, I swear. Would I ever lie to you about this?” Penguin counters indignantly, staring dead ahead at Shachi. “Who knew you were hiding such pretty eyes behind those sunglasses of yours? It’s not fair.”

In all sincerity, Shachi had no comeback to that. He’s been rendered speechless by the amount of childlike determination bursting from within Penguin’s words, and he can’t look away from Penguin either because of the captivating oceans that were fixated right on him. 

So he tries to find a reason. 

“Alright then. Why do you think they’re pretty?” Shachi crosses his arms and tries to frown, and he hopes it makes him come across as intimidating. 

(What he doesn’t know though, is that he’s positively  _ pouting _ , and Penguin feels himself swooning due to how adorable Shachi is.) 

He beams, innocence and wonder reflected in his features. “It’s because they remind me so much of nature. You like flowers, don’t you?”

“Uh-huh…?” 

“Well then, there’s your answer.” Penguin’s smile stretches from one cheek to another, with its warmth making Shachi’s bare, cold chest feel feverish. “Your eyes are...really gorgeous, Shach. And I know you probably don’t like me using such words to describe them, but they really are. Whoever said your eyes were ugly were blind, because they’re so soft. They’re so kind even though we’ve been through so much bad shit, and they display so much life and emotion even if you might hide them behind your sunglasses. They remind me of things like trees, plants and even your favourite gardenias, but most importantly, they’re your eyes. I love them.”

Shachi can feel Penguin stroking his hair delicately, but he’s become too choked up to say anything in response.

“...And I love you,” Penguin adds, with a softer voice this time, his hair falling over the crimson hue painted across his cheeks and hiding it from the rest of the world except for Shachi. “I love you so much.” 

Ah, there it was. 

Shachi knows for a fact that Penguin loves him because of the words uttered to him during the throes of passion or in shared domestic comfort, and it’s knowledge in his head that has long since established concrete neural connections.

_ He knows it very well. _ It wasn’t something that usually distracted them from spending time with one another, regardless of the activity they were partaking in.

This time though, it forces tears to spill from his eyes and stain the pillow damp, and he’s shaking once again with muted whimpers only Penguin can hear.

“Shachi? Shachi, hey, you okay?” He lets Penguin hurriedly scoop him up into his arms and sit him down on his lap again, but this time Shachi is full-on sobbing. He's hiccuping and coughing from the rush of waterworks, but Penguin's rubbing circles into his back and letting him cry into his shoulder. "I’m here, so you can let it out, alright?"

By command, Shachi's tears only flood harder and he clenches his teeth together, his repressed shame and doubts stinging and painful to the touch as it overflows and takes over the intimate moment that they were sharing just a few seconds ago. 

It was so long ago, and yet he was only coming to terms with it now. 

\---

_ Swallow Island, an island well-known for its inhabitants’ blue eyes.  _

_ Any other colour was frowned upon since the island’s residents believed that it brought bad luck. And bad luck it did bring, as Shachi is made to trip and fall on his bum, which makes him tumble into the snow. _

_ “Hey, green-eyed freak! What made you think you could come and show your ugly face to us, huh?”  _

_ The fall makes him cough and he struggles to scramble to his feet amidst the slippery ground, but a foot kicking his chest makes him stay down.  _

_ “But I--I didn’t do anything wrong--” _

_ Peals of wicked laughter sound out from different directions, and as he blinks to get snow out of his eyes, he can make out a few people surrounding him. One, two, three, maybe four, but at this point, he had long since given up on the idea of acknowledging any of them. _

_ They would always kick him down like a helpless dog. _

_ “Wrong? Wrong? Oh yeah, that’s the word for it! You look wrong!” The taunting voice grows closer to him, and as his view finally clears, he’s met with a fist thrown across his face instead. It sends him flying and makes him stay down for good. He can feel iron in his mouth and there’s blood blotching the snow red.  _

_ It’s his blood.  _

_ “Do you wanna know why you look wrong? It’s because you’ve got green eyes, idiot! Nobody here has eyes that unnatural, but you just had to be the resident bad luck charm, huh?”  _

_ His face feels numb.  _

_ “You’re nothing but trouble, you know that? Why couldn’t you just be born with blue eyes like everyone else?” _

_ His arms feel bruised. _

_ “You’re disgusting.”  _

_ His legs feel sore.  _

_ “You look hideous.” _

_ His heart aches.  _

**_“Your parents died because of you.”_ **

_ His limits finally snap in half.  _

_ There’s a ringing in his ears as his mind breaks and shatters like broken glass and he launches himself at the nearest person, connecting his punches with anything that resembled a face and ripping at them in a fit of mindless rage. Screams fall and escape his ears as he fights back for the first time in his life, but this time he’s not the one screaming and wailing for help.  _

_ (It’s his tormentor.)  _

_ He’s the one making blood spill, so much that he can’t even differentiate it from the freshly fallen snow, but none of it mattered. _

_ As he’s finally pulled away by familiar arms that belong to his best friend, he’s cursing and swearing and flailing to be let free, but for all of the expletives that are tumbling from his mouth, he’s not aiming them at the unconscious boy now bloodied and bruised on the reddened ground. _

_ He’s aiming them at his ugly, green-eyed self.  _

\---

_ “I killed him, _ ” Shachi hyperventilates in horror, hands pulling and scratching at his head violently. “I killed him, didn’t I? _Pen?_ ” 

“No,” Penguin reassures as best as he can muster, his fingers quickly entwining themselves with Shachi’s and pinning them down on the bed to prevent any further self-harm. “No, you didn’t. I was there. He woke up.”

“I-- _ He woke up? _ ” 

“Yes.” Nodding, the mass of worry in Penguin’s stomach takes shape as he grabs onto Shachi and holds him so that they’re chest to chest, and he can sense the thundering heartbeat that Shachi has. “It’s okay now. He’s fine.” 

Arms and legs snake around Penguin and entrap him in a tight grasp, but there’s no hostility present. On the contrary, there’s an ounce of each emotion that Shachi pours out of himself packed into the areas of contact that they share, and Penguin feels like crying himself. 

_ Shachi... _

“ _I'_ __m_ sorry, _ ” Shachi cries, nails digging into the firm surface of Penguin’s back. “ _ I’m so sorry Pen _ , I got emotional, I ruined the moment--” 

“Shhh no, it’s okay.” Penguin lightly tilts Shachi’s chin up and kisses away the tears that are accumulating in the corners of his eyes, which makes his face scrunch up. “You didn’t ruin anything.”

“But--we were about to get to the good part, and I just started crying again--” 

“Again? No, you’ve only done it once so far. But anything with you  _ is  _ the good part, Shach.” Penguin sweeps Shachi’s fringe out of his face and rubs over the hidden freckles that are sprinkled by the sides of his eyes, admiring them for the rarities that they were. “I love you not just because we have the most phenomenal sex ever--”

Penguin’s beyond thrilled to hear a snort, despite the tears and snot running down Shachi’s face. 

“--but because you’re you. You’re my best friend, Shach, and you’re my beloved killer whale too. No matter what anyone said or did before, you’re not a bad luck charm and you’re not disgusting. You didn’t cause your parents’ death either. Both of us know it was the tsunami.” Penguin winces on the last word, but he sucks in a breath and presses on. “Your eyes are beautiful, and I’ll say it as many times as you need because it’s a fact. Your eyes really are wonderful, and whoever says otherwise is a  _ dumbass. _ ” 

Shachi sniffs, and Penguin automatically reaches for the nearest tissue box so that Shachi can sneeze into it. “...You mean it?”

“Without a doubt, yeah.” There’s a proud feeling swelling up inside Penguin’s heart and a smile can’t help but play at the corner of his lips. 

“Okay.” Then, Shachi mutters tiredly, “Thank you, Pen.  _ Thank you. _ ” 

Shachi’s eyes are close to fluttering shut and there’s a new distinct reddish hue around his eyes, but Penguin settles in relief when he finds that Shachi has stopped crying. 

“Of course, Shach.” He shifts to lie down on the mess of blankets that they’ve made on the bed and as his head hits the pillow with a thump, he curls up with Shachi and pats down the soft brown hair that he’s grown comfortably accustomed to. Squeezing him flush against his chest, he’s content that Shachi's previously stuttering heartbeat is now considerably more still. "Of course." 

He finds that any time spent together with Shachi is the most enjoyable of all.

Penguin’s own eyes are threatening to succumb to the comforts of their bed, so he asks, “Do you want to continue? Or do you want to go to sleep?” 

Shachi’s already in the process of burrowing himself deep in the depths of Penguin’s arms and Penguin can feel his nose tickling him, which makes him wholly aware of the fact that they’re facing each other bare-chested.

_ He’s so warm. _

“Mm...sleep, please?” Shachi groans, his weary bones and the slightly sunken mattress beckoning him to dream. “We can continue later.”

“Haha, sure.” Penguin gives an amused laugh, his lungs expanding with mirth and his face shining, almost akin to being kissed by sunlight. It fills Shachi with rushing affection and as he steals a glance at Penguin while he’s trying to reach for the blanket, he’s overcome with so much fondness and adoration that he thinks he might as well burst into tears again. Penguin notices him and his face glows even brighter, which makes it hard to regard him completely for all that he was. “What is it?” 

_ For someone with such a winter-like name, he was, on the contrary, truly the epitome of sunshine.  _

“...I love you, Penguin.” Shachi makes a hiding place for himself by trying to dive under the covers, but even in the dim atmosphere could Penguin see the tips of his ears glow a pretty red. “ _ I love you. _ ”

And despite the suffering that they had been through (and were going to go through), all was right in the world for that one instant.

Penguin places all of his fervour into a kiss that he gives Shachi, and he pulls the blanket closer so that it covers Shachi properly.

“I love you too, Shachi.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I've realized that I seem to end a lot of my fics with mutual expressions of love. Damn, I'm a sucker for a happy ending.


End file.
